1 death linked to Thursday's winter storm system

JACKSON — At least one death has been linked to a winter storm system that dumped 2 to 4 inches of snow in central parts of Mississippi on Thursday.

The Highway Patrol said the fatality was in Lowndes County. Patrol spokesman Cpl. Criss Turnipseed says 64-year-old Johnnie A. Matthews of West Point died when his car collided with a downed tree about 5 a.m. on Mississippi Highway 50.

Turnipseed said the large pine tree in the roadway appeared to have been uprooted by wind and ground saturation due to excessive rainfall ahead of Thursday’s storm.

“The highway was slippery from the icy conditions,” Turnipseed said.

No other fatalities have been reported.

The National Weather Service said that by early afternoon, snow was melting away across the state.

The winter storm system has moved into Alabama and toward other parts of the Southeast.